macaroon

American  

[mak-uh-roon] / ˌmæk əˈrun /

noun

1. a drop cookie made of egg whites, sugar, usually almond paste or coconut, and sometimes a little flour.

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macaroon British  

/ ˌmækəˈruːn /

noun

1. a kind of sweet biscuit made of ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites

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Usage

What’s the difference between a macaroon and a macaron? A macaroon is a kind of drop cookie made with egg whites, sugar, and often coconut—and sometimes with ground almonds and maybe a little flour. A macaron is a round, colored sandwich cookie made with egg whites, sugar, and often ground almonds, with a buttercream, ganache, or jam filling. Macarons are known for coming in many different flavors and colors.The two cookies are made with some of the same basic ingredients, including sugar and egg whites, but they have very different appearances and textures.Macaroons look like this:https://twitter.com/FoodalBlog/status/1387467462736756739Macarons look like this:https://twitter.com/bouchon_bakery/status/1204038118069944322However, the sandwich cookie properly known as a macaron is sometimes called a macaroon. (The reverse is not the case—it’s not common for the simple drop cookies usually made with coconut to be called macarons.)Making macarons requires quite a bit of skill. They’re delicate and often expensive. Macaroons, on the other hand, are much simpler to make—you basically just mix all the ingredients together and then drop balls of the mix onto a cookie sheet. Macaroons are sometimes dipped in chocolate.To remember the difference (and which spelling to use for each word), remember that macaroon is spelled with two O’s, as is coconut, a common ingredient in macaroons.Here’s an example of macaroon and macaron used correctly in a sentence.Example: I asked my mom to make macaroons for my birthday, but she misunderstood and spent all month learning how to make several different flavors and colors of fancy French macarons. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between macaroon and macaron.

Etymology

Origin of macaroon

1605–15; < Middle French macaron < dialectal Italian maccarone cake or biscuit made of ground almonds; macaroni

Example Sentences

Brown has several whimsical items in the primary bedroom, including crystals and treasures from her thrifting, like the Ladurée macaroon box she purchased in France for $15 and a tea tin that holds her curlers.

From Los Angeles Times

But for the mom-and-pop shops in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades — the dry cleaners, tattoo parlors, bars, bistros and stores that sold antiques, flowers, books, pottery and macaroons — the devastation is more personal.

From Los Angeles Times

And for dessert they were served a rose macaroon cookie, composed of rose petal cream, raspberries and lychees.

From BBC

Others have made their own macaroons or simply eaten unsweetened coconut flakes.

From Seattle Times

Powder puffs, brushes, and pots of rouge sat like macaroons on a candy tray.

From Literature